Man shot on Lafayette St. indicted in Dover robbery

Okiemute "Leo" Omatie

DOVER - A Dover man who was shot in the chest on Rochester's Lafayette Street in July and earlier arrested in the robbery of a woman at Rochester's Residence Inn in June has been indicted in the armed robbery of a Dover man, which occurred the same day as the Residence Inn theft.

Okiemute "Leo" Omatie, 19, of Fifth Street, Dover, is charged with felony robbery in the Dover case, in which he and an accomplice used force to steal the man's computer laptop and other electronic equipment on June 15.

Omatie, who was helped in the robbery by Phillip Swanson, 27, of Dover, is said to have tasered, punched and kicked the victim during the robbery.

Omatie was also arrested in the Residence Inn robbery, which occurred the same day, but those charges were dropped in July.

Omatie, who is currently out on bail, is alleged to have been shot by Kerry Joseph, 27, with a last known address of New York Street in Dover, on July 29. In that incident Omatie chllenged Joseph to a fistfight whereupon he drew a handgun and shot Omatie after he became trapped between two Lafayette Street apartment buildings and was unable to escape, according to a police affidavit.

Omatie fell to the stoop at 42 Lafayette St., a bullet in his chest, where he was found by emergency personnel.

He was Medflighted to Maine Medical Center with what were described as life-threatening injuries from which he is now recovering.

Joseph, known to many as "Bones," according to a police affidavit, is charged with felony first-degree assault. He is being held at the Strafford County Jail on 100,000 cash bail after being tracked down by Fugitive Task Force agents in Pawtucket, R.I., on Aug. 6.

The exact nature of the dispute between Omatie and Joseph is unknown, but Omatie told police he had only met Joseph a few times and had somehow offended him about two months before the shooting, which, according to the affidavit, "resulted in 'Bones' stabbing him in the stomach while they were in Dover."

Omatie told Police he did not report the stabbing, but soon after met up with Joseph and, seeing he was unarmed, challenged him to a fistfight, which Joseph refused, the affidavit states.

On the day of the Lafayette Street shooting Omatie took the bus to Rochester and was walking up Lafayette Street when he saw Joseph on the porch of a home. According to the affidavit, Omatie said he continued walking up Lafayette Street, but that Joseph came off the porch and began to follow him.

Omatie told police that he turned around and challenged Joseph to a fistfight and that Joseph then "flashed" a gun at him so he began to run and was later shot. Police say no bullet casing was ever recovered.

Omatie faces three and a half to seven years in prison for the Dover robbery.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt, only that a grand jury has found sufficient evidence to move forward with a trial.